Xwarṣa
General information Xwarṣa is an extinct language :( In more detail, it's a conlang I made for this Wiki's first speedlanging challenge. The general idea as well as more than half of the content were put up in the span of about fifteen days. I generally conceived of the language as an Avestan analogue, and it thus takes some significant inspiration from Avestan first and Sogdian second. Its grammar is fully a priori, while the phonology is a blend of unique ideas that appeal to me and a significant Iranian component. Xwarṣa is a fusional and agglutinating language, with massive morphological complexity offset by relatively simple syntax and free word order. It is both morphologically and syntactically fully ergative, as well as primarily ergative in the domain of morphosemantics and semantics. Phonology Consonants /p b t d ʈ ɖ k g q/ /s z θ ð ʂ ʐ x ħ/ /m n ɳ ŋ/ /v r (l) j w/ Additionally, the clusters /θt ðd/ behave as one consonant. The plosive pairs denoted by /pb td/ et cetera do not seem to actually have any contrastive voicing as is distinct from both and ; the same applies to all other plosives. The fricative pairs /sz θð/ et cetera, on the other hand, do seem to have voicing as assimilates to (regressive voicing assimilation is present) Vowels /a ɒ e ə i o u/ /ɑ̃ ɛ̃ ɔ̃ ũ/ <ą ą̂ ę ǫ ǫ̂ ų ų̂> Circumflexes denote long vowels, ogoneks nasal ones. Vowel Lengthening All final vowels lengthen: 'Vowel Mergers' In many cases, instead of inserting an epenthetic /d/ or /k/, short vowels may merge into a longer one. Long vowels may either receive a trailing epenthetic consonant when near a short vowel or just absorb it, and two long vowels are always separated by epenthesis. Sometimes, the short vowels merge into an onglide-vowel combination. Grammar Xwarṣa is an ergative-absolutive language. 'Nouns' Nouns in Xwarṣa inflect for several categories: # Number # Case # Definiteness # Noun class # Possession Xwarṣa nouns can be singular ( ), dual ( ) and plural ( ). They can be either definite ( ) or indefinite ( ). They can either belong to the class of edible objects ( ) or inedible objects ( ). They can inflect for one of eight cases: #'Absolutive' ( ) #'Ergative' ( ) #'Dative' ( ) #'Vocative' ( ) #'Instrumental' ( ) #'Vialis' ( ) #'Malefactive' ( ) #'Possessed' ( ) Xwarṣa nouns inflect for the person of an object in their possession, which then takes the possessive case. They can inflect for three persons, with additional variations: #'First' person ## Singular (1 ) ## Dual ### Inclusive (1 ) ### Exclusive (1 ) ## Plural ### Inclusive (1 ) ### Exclusive (1 ) #'Second' person ## Singular (2 ) ## Dual (2 ) ## Plural (2 ) #'Third' person ##'Proximate' ### Singular ( ) ### Dual ( ) ### Plural ( ) ##'Obviate' ### Singular ( ) ### Dual ( ) ### Plural ( ) A Xwarṣa noun looks like this: The root is the bare morphosemantical unit that makes up the word, stripped of all inflections and derivations. Derivational suffixes are added onto the root to form the basic stem. Adding a possession suffix onto the basic stem makes an extended stem. This extended stem receives inflection and becomes a full noun. Edibility is inherent in the root. This same pattern is applied for adjectives which behave most like nouns. 'Possession (+2)' The second noun inflection slot consists of one suffix that marks for the person of the object in the possession of the marked. There is only one set of suffixes that doesn't show edibility: 'Inflection (+3)' The third noun inflection slot consists of only one suffix which conflates the categories of case, number and definiteness. There are two different sets of suffixes depending on whether the noun to be inflected is edible or not. These two sets have some moderate differences: If the extended stem ends and the suffix begins with a vowel, a stem extension consonant is inserted, usually either /k/ or /d/. If the extended stem ends and the suffix begins with a consonant, an echo vowel is inserted whose quality is the same as the last vowel's, but lacking length and nasalisation. The possessive case ending is often added if only the marked serves as either a predicative or is in the absolutive case otherwise. It can be used practically everywhere a possessed noun occurs, but this kind of marking isn't universal. If the possessed is marked with the case marker, the possessor becomes marked for the case the possessed would otherwise have had. 'Adjectives' Adjectives in Xwarṣa behave like nouns except that they have an additional edibility slot and a comparison clitic: 'Edibility (+E)' The edibility slot has one suffix which shows the edibility of the noun with which it agrees. 'Comparison (=4)' The comparison slot has one clitic which most often attaches to the adjective: 'Numbers' Xwarṣa has a composite vigesimal-decimal system: it has simple numerals for numbers from zero to ten and twenty, and composite for eleven to nineteen but numbers greater than twenty are formed vigesimally - as a sum of multiples of twenty and numbers from zero to nineteen. The next unique number is two hundred, then after that two thousand. Numbers greater than two thousand are formed using various strategies and multiple forms exist for many numbers. Ordinal numbers behave and inflect as regular adjectives. The table below shows both cardinal and ordinal numbers: In general, simple cardinals are bare and simple ordinals take a suffix <-əx>. Some ordinals have the suffix merged into their shape and some have irregular or suppletive cardinal and ordinal stems. Numerals from eleven to nineteen are formed irregularly. Complex cardinals like "21" are formed as "20-and-1", in the pattern of: bigger number's ordinal stem + <-j-> + smaller number's ordinal stem. Complex ordinals of such numbers are formed as "20.-1.", in the pattern of: bigger number's cardinal stem + smaller number's cardinal stem. Complex cardinals like "40" are formed multiplicatively: forty is formed as "two-times twenty", in the pattern of: bigger number's cardinal stem + <-ṣ>, then a word boundary, followed by the smaller number's cardinal stem. Complex ordinal numbers numbers like "40." are formed like "2.-times 20.", in the pattern of: bigger number's ordinal form, with <-x> replaced by <-ṣ>, then a word boundary, followed by the smaller number's ordinal stem. 'Verbs' Verbs in Xwarṣa inflect for several categories: #Person #Number #Tense #Polarity #Aspect #Mood #Voice Xwarṣa verbs inflect for the person and number of its absolutive argument, which are conflated as such: #'First' person ## Singular (1 ) ## Dual ### Inclusive (1 ) ### Exclusive (1 ) ## Plural ### Inclusive (1 ) ### Exclusive (1 ) #'Second' person ## Singular (2 ) ## Dual (2 ) ## Plural (2 ) #'Third' person ##'Proximate' ### Singular ( ) ### Dual ( ) ### Plural ( ) ##'Obviate' ### Singular ( ) ### Dual ( ) ### Plural ( ) They can be in any of the nine tenses: #'Present' ( ) #'Past' ##'Relative' past ( ) ##'Absolute' past ( ) ##'Immediate' past ( / ) #'Future' ##'Relative' future ( ) ##'Absolute' future ( ) ##'Vespertine' future ( / ) ##'Proximate' future ( ) ##'Distant' future ( ) They can encode for one of four aspects: #'Imperfective' ( ) #'Perfective' ##'Inchoative' ( ) ##'Cessative' ( ) #'Defective' ( ) They can be inflected for one of three moods: #'Indicative' ( ) #'Hypothetical' ( ) #'Imperative' ( ) They can be in one of three voices: #'Medioactive' ( ) #'Antipassive' ( ) #'Reciprocal' ( ) They can be either positive (unglossed) or negative ( ). A Xwarṣa verb looks like this: The root is the bare morphosemantical unit that makes up the word, stripped of all inflections and derivations. Derivational suffixes are added onto the root to form the basic stem. Adding the aspect and mood inflections makes an extended stem. This extended stem receives a conflated suffix onto which voice is attached, forming a full verb. 'Derivation (+1)' 'Aspect (+2)' The second verb slot fits the aspect suffix which also encodes transitivity: Aspect can be ommited, implied or circumstantially marked; the second slot is not obligatory. Usually verbs have an inherited aspect; in that case, no marking is needed 'Mood (+3)' The third verb slot has the mood suffix. It encodes only the grammatical mood of the verb: 'Person, Number, Tense and Polarity (+4)' 'Voice (+5)' The fifth verb slot has the voice suffix: 'Pronouns and Correlatives' Pronouns in Xwarṣa inflect otherwise exactly as nouns. Quantifiers semantically fit together with pronouns although they inflect like adjectives. Pro-adverbs behave like adverbs. The personal pronouns can also be used emphatically. : *''anyone, someone, everyone, no one, another one, the same one'' 'Syntax' Xwarṣa is a head-initial, VEA (verb-ergative-absolutive) language. As it is a highly inflected language, it essentially has free word order. It employs fronting of certain parts of speech to provide emphasis. Adjectives in it come after nouns and adverbs after verbs. 'Equality and Difference' Adjectives of equality, likeness and difference go either with a copula and the preposition "pąn" which takes the dative followed by a noun phrase, or with a subordinator, copula, "pąn" and a dative complement. 'Comparison' Comparison is done in the form of a comparative + "ip" + compared-to entity. 'Relative Clauses' Relative clauses function like either adverbs or adjectives on the surface, modifying noun phrases. They are formed using the relative correlatives whose referent is the modified segment in the main clause in which they are embedded. Word order in relative clauses always follows the pattern of "CORRELATIVE-VERB", followed by the other constituents that aren't locked in place. 'Creatives and Adjectives' Verbs of creation (or creatives) such as "to be born", "to be made", "to be written" et cetera can take adjectives in the instrumental as complement (ex. to be born free) to specify the manner or properties intended or realised of the object of creation. 'Titles' Titles function almost like adjectives: they agree with the noun they modify in case, possession and number (not edibility) and come after it (John king; Ahuramazdâ Θôθągaḍǫ̂) 'Possessives' In a possessor-possessed combination, the possessed often takes the possessed case and the possessor takes the case role of the possessed in addition to the possession inflection. 'Conditionals' Conditionals are introduced several conditional particles, such as "ǫkê" (for specifying direct causation). A conditional clause begins with the particle, followed by the verb in the hypothetical, then comes normal word order. Fronting for emphasis cannot move any element to be between the particle and the verb nor can it move any element so that it stands before the particle. 'Antipassives' Antipassives are marked by a specific verb conjugation. The original absolutive argument of the active is deleted and the old ergative argument becomes the absolutive argument. The original absolutive may be still present but marked with the dative or vialis cases. 'Subordinate Clauses' Subordinate clauses are introduced with the particle "dâ" and treated as regular sentences, with missing arguments implied and present arguments overwriting assumed ones. Subordinate clauses are unmarked for case but can take on postpositions (that then come after the particle) and still function as arguments. 'Copula construction' Copula constructions are of the form "Copula + Modified + Modifier", where the modified is in the absolutive and the modifier can be a relative phrase introduced by a demonstrative and a relative correlative, or an adjective or a set of adjectives, where the modifier agrees with the modified in case, number and edibility but is invariably indefinite. 'Definiteness' New information is usually introduced indefinite and then transposed into the definite when what it refers to is known. Vocabulary Xwarsa/Lexicon Examples Xwarṣa/Texts Category:Languages Category:August Challenge